Londoners 'to be hit hardest by welfare reforms'

A London Councils report says changes — including the “bedroom tax”,
the benefit cap and the abolition of council tax benefit — will hit the
capital’s claimants hardest. The shake-up could leave some facing losses
of nearly £200 a week.

It says the impact will be exacerbated by
rising rental costs in London and predicts further problems as large
numbers of claimants move from central districts to cheaper boroughs
such as Newham, Enfield and Barnet.

The report, which criticises
ministers for failing to take account of London’s unique circumstances,
says that councils are trying to minimise the impact on claimants by
offering job, budgeting, “downsizing” and other advice. But it warns
that some will be unable, or unwilling, to adjust and will be forced
into homelessness as a result.

Announcing today’s findings, Sir
Steve Bullock, the Mayor of Lewisham and London Councils’ spokesman on
housing, said: “For some ordinary families with two children looking for
work their benefit could drop £183 per week, while an identical family
in Manchester would be unaffected.”

The report says the biggest
impact on Londoners will be the abolition of the national council tax
benefit system. It is being replaced by a council administered fund 10
per cent lower in value.

Nine authorities in London are absorbing
this drop but the remainder are reducing sums paid, affecting an
estimated 456,000 recipients. The report says the benefit cap, which
restricts the total sum paid to £500 a week, will also affect 27,000
households in London. It predicts that up to 80,000 claimants will be
hit by the “bedroom tax” which penalises those with spare rooms.